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In the midst of a spirited ninth-inning rally, the rains fell, and the tarp was placed on the field with two outs and the tying run in the on-deck circle.

Even when they have the momentum, the RailRiders don't seem to have enough.

The RailRiders rallied from an early eight-run deficit to get within striking distance in the ninth inning, but the front end of the driving rainstorm that settled over the region last night controversially brought Durham an 8-5 win.

Brennan Boesch's third hit of the night, a line-drive double to center that brought home Alberto Gonzalez to get the RailRiders within three, had the offense peaking. But as Zoilo Almonte dug into the batter's box, home plate umpire Kelvin Bultron called for the grounds crew to cover the field.

"That's definitely a first," said outfielder Thomas Neal of game being called in the bottom of the ninth inning. "That's tough. But it started to come down pretty hard. I think we could have finished a couple more hitters, but Mother Nature didn't allow it, and the umpire felt like it wasn't good conditions.

"You really can't fault him for having the players' best interests, even though we might have won if we kept playing."

Initially, Neal - who had two hits, including an RBI double in the fourth to start the aborted comeback - said he wasn't even sure if the game was ended or if it would be resumed with Almonte at bat and Boesch on second tonight, and the situation caused some confusion even outside of the clubhouses.

But according to Rule 4.12a, subsection 5, weather can lead to a suspended game that would need to be resumed if "the visiting team has scored one or more runs (in the inning) to take the lead, and the home team has not retaken the lead." In short, the RailRiders were fortunate to even be close in the ninth.

Making his first appearance in a game since making his big league debut with the Yankees eight days earlier, Brett Marshall got roughed up by the potent Durham lineup.

Vince Belnome ripped a two-run triple, and former Scranton/Wilkes-Barre slugger Shelley Duncan capped a four-run first inning with a tip of the cap for old-time's sake, launching a belt-high Marshall offering off the signage in left field for a two-run homer.

One of the best young prospects in baseball took advantage of Marshall's wayward location in the fourth. Wil Myers hit a three-run homer over the walkway in left-center, a tremendous blast that gave the Bulls an 8-0 lead.

"Both of them (the homeruns) were cutters that I just threw up (in the zone)," Marshall said. "I kind of was trying to do too much with it and ended up throwing them up in the zone. And they hit them. Pretty hard."

The threat of nasty weather loomed over PNC Field from the time Marshall threw his first pitch of the night, but it didn't manifest itself until that helter-skelter ninth inning.

Down 8-3 and facing hard-throwing lefty Adam Liberatore, the RailRiders found an offensive spark that had been practically nonexistent for a team that has now lost 10 of its last 11 games.

The rally started innocently enough in the fourth, when Josh Bell and Neal ripped back-to-back doubles against lefty Mike Montgomery to pull the RailRiders within 8-2. Bell's sacrifice fly in the sixth plated Ronnier Mustelier to make it 8-3 after six, but the next big chance to come back happened to collide with the storm.

Melky Mesa started the inning by hitting a drive over center fielder Montrose High School graduate Rich Thompson's head, racing into third with a triple. Alberto Gonzalez doubled him home to make it 8-4.

With two out, Boesch's double may have been the hardest-hit ball of the inning, short-hopping the wall in center through the raindrops. But the rally ended on that hit, with no chance to add another.

Half of it was a frustrating end for Marshall, for sure. But despite the RailRiders' struggles recently, fighting back from eight runs down didn't seem to surprise him.

"Never (seen) a rainout in the bottom of the ninth, with two out. That's kind of crazy," Marhsall said. "But I've seen big-time comebacks like that where the team has a rally going. I never gave up on them. I know I gave up eight runs, but we've got some good hitters on this team. You never can doubt them."

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